In 1862 Fyodor Dostoyevsky took a trip to Europe.
Yes, him of ‘Crime and Punishment’ fame.
Tried to read that once – very hard going.
While on the trip he wrote an essay entitled ‘Winter Notes on Summer Impressions’ covering his trip and his reflections on perception of Russians in Europe.
At one point he says “Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear, and you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute”.
Give it a go – try not to think about a polar bear.
See how long you last.
In the mid 1980s, inspired by this quote, Harvard psychologist Daniel Wegner conducted an experiment in which a room full of people were instructed “not to think about a polar bear” and to ring a bell every time they did.
Within seconds a cacophony of bells indicated that Dostoyevsky was right.
So, why is it that so much modern advice on healthy eating is based on trying to ignore the things you want?
“Try not to think about cake / chocolate / biscuits / beer / wine”.
Like that’s going to do anything but make you think about it much more.
We’ve always found that people get far better results by concentrating on what they WILL be getting.
You know – the body they like.
The energy levels they want.
The sleep, sex drive, longevity, etc that they desire.
Concentrate on what you’ll be getting, not what you’re ‘missing out on’ and we’re sure you’ll stand a better chance of getting there 🙂
Much love,
Jon ‘The Idiot’ Hall and Matt ‘A Gentle Creature’ Nicholson
